BIBLE BYTES -- The Bible is the GOAT! Verses and values from the Old and New Testaments!
Jesus said several times that when you let God direct your ways, you will always have access to work and other means for food, shelter and clothing. This part of the prayer affirms this promise. When you trust God and seek his ways, he sees to it your basic needs are met.
This portion of the prayer calls you to desire God’s will over your own. You have to respect God first. You seek his will because he knows everything that is or will be. On your own, you cannot know what God knows. This is how God works.
Matthew 6:10 (NIV) 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
12/22/2024
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs how to talk to God. It begins by recognizing God as a Father and the Father of everyone and all that is. He is holy above all else and showing respect of his authority (also called “fearing God”), is the best way to begin prayer.
Matthew 6:9 (NIV) 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
12/15/2024
These verses show how to trust God in your most dire times. The woman’s only son fell ill and died very quickly. She said “It shall be well,” and then, “it is well.” It was, as she looked for Elisha and God used him to bring her son back to life. No matter the trouble, it shall be well.
2 Kings 4: 18-26 (KJV) 18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. 20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. 23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. 24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. 25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: 26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
12/8/2024
Living a quiet life, without guile, and seeking God’s ways, is the template to peace in your life. Letting God take care of whether others are in the right or wrong is what minding your own business means. You never do better than when you are exactly where God has you.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 (TLB) 11 This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and doing your own work, just as we told you before.
12/1/2024
Sexual sin has been normalized by making it appear trivial and using delightful fictional characters in media who make their way into the hearts of the public. The Bible is one of the few voices challenging it. Here is one explanation of why sexual sin is not trivial.
1 Corinthians 6:18 (MSG) 16-20 There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, “The two become one.” Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never “become one.” There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for “becoming one” with another. Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.
11/28/2024
These verses refer to the days after Jesus was crucified. The disciples were frightened and traumatized. In the midst of their despair, and without their even asking, Jesus appeared in reassurance his promises were true. This is what Jesus does, the Healer above all healers.
John 20:19-22 (NIV) 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
11/24/2024
You could call the first verses of Matthew the Genesis of the New Testament. Included are some women in the line, most with poor sexual reputations, and not all were Hebrews. God understands your circumstances. Your respect for him is the first step to redemption.
Matthew 1:1-16 (NIV) The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah 1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, 15 Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
11/17/2024
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Emphasizing outward beauty over inward beauty is a problem. These verses say you are precious to God as you develop things that reflect his goodness - a beautiful heart, and a gentle and quiet spirit. These make you beautiful from the inside out.
1 Peter 3:3-4 (TLB) 3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on jewelry, or beautiful clothes, or hair arrangement. 4 Be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit that is so precious to God.
11/3/2024
“If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.” If the only times you have spoken these words is in regard to eating dessert, you are fortunate. It is primarily a reference to sexual indescretion. As with most temptation, it is an energy and rationalized strength that will turn to pure hell.
Matthew 26:41 (TLB) 41 Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For the spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is!
10/27/2024
The brother of the prodigal son is to be appreciated for his loyalty and work ethic, but this isn’t his story. It is the story of anyone who takes the gifts God gives and lives in defiance of all that is holy. God promises to forgive as you repent. Family members, unlike God, sometimes never do.
Luke 15:25-32 (MSG) 25-27 “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’ 28-30 “The older brother stomped off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’ 31-32 “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”
10/20/2024
Due to their continual sins, God allowed the land of his people to be taken from them. Then he told them to work for the well-being of their captors as if they were in their own homeland. Build homes, marry, multiply, plant vineyards. Honor God whatever the circumstance.
The sin of pride is far and away the most mentioned sin of the Bible. It is thinking you know more than God and make decisions on that premise. This happens all day long all over the world to much misery. If you truly believe God knows best, make your decisions with him.
Proverbs 29:23 (TLB) 23 Pride ends in a fall, while humility brings honor.
10/6/2024
The first person to see Jesus when he rose from the dead was Mary Magdalene. There is a lesson in this: A person delivered from demons knows the value of deliverance and resurrection. When you know, you know.
Mark 16:9 (TLB) 9 It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus came back to life, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene—the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.
9/29/2024
In Luke 21, Jesus describes a degradation of events and end of this physical kingdom and says when new growth shows regeneration, there will be a new Kingdom of God where Jesus will rule. This Kingdom starts in you as soon as you let Jesus regenerate and transform your mind.
Luke 21:29-33(TLB) 29 Then he gave them this illustration: “Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. 30 When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near. 31 In the same way, when you see the events taking place that I’ve described you can be just as sure that the Kingdom of God is near. 32 “I solemnly declare to you that when these things happen, the end of this age has come. 33 And though all heaven and earth shall pass away, yet my words remain forever true.
9/22/2024
The Samaritan religion had a different holy place for worship than did their new neighbors, the Jews. This woman asked Jesus which was correct. He said worship is not a geographic or physical structure. His Father is the only source of all that is and he is worshiped in spirit and in truth.
John 4:20-24 (AMP) 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one ought to worship is in Jerusalem [at the temple].” 21 Jesus replied, “Woman, believe Me, a time is coming [when God’s kingdom comes] when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You [Samaritans] do not know what you worship; we [Jews] do know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
9/15/2024
The Old Testament speaks of the “nation” of God’s chosen people more than individuals. Whether a nation or an individual, there is a tipping point when you are so far away from God he will destroy you or save you, depending upon whether you are serious about repentance.
Jeremiah 18:7-10 (TLB) 7 Whenever I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be taken up and destroyed, 8 then if that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9 And if I announce that I will make a cer1ain nation strong and great, 10 but then that nation changes its mind, turns to evil, and refuses to obey me, then I, too, will change my mind and not bless that nation as I had said I would.
9/11/2024
Learning from an ancient Eastern text isn’t something a person can do alone. God made it so followers need other followers. This commonly - but not exclusively - occurs in church settings. People and churches aren’t perfect, but it seems God works in and through them anyway.
This parable is a description of a disrespectful and ungrateful attitude to God and his son. Jesus was saying that his Father will take his offer of the Kingdom away from those who do not appreciate it and give it to those who do want to have a relationship with him.
Luke 20:9-16 (TLB) 9 Now he turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to some farmers, and went away to a distant land to live for several years. 10 When harvest time came, he sent one of his men to the farm to collect his share of the crops. But the tenants beat him up and sent him back empty-handed. 11 Then he sent another, but the same thing happened; he was beaten up and insulted and sent away without collecting. 12 A third man was sent and the same thing happened. He, too, was wounded and chased away. 13 “‘What shall I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will show respect for him.’ 14 “But when the tenants saw his son, they said, ‘This is our chance! This fellow will inherit all the land when his father dies. Come on. Let’s kill him, and then it will be ours.’ 15 So they dragged him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What do you think the owner will do? 16 I’ll tell you—he will come and kill them and rent the vineyard to others.” “But they would never then and now. do a thing like that,” his listeners protested.
8/25/2024
